Transportation Services

Make Magic to benefit Boyle Street Community Services

If you’re a naughty driver who wants to get on the nice list this holiday season, MacEwan University’s Transportation Services wants to help you.

As part of its annual Make Magic holiday campaign, Transportation Services reduces parking fines to just $15, and transforms on-campus parking violations into charitable donations.

“Make Magic is a wonderful campaign that allows Parking Services to show its softer side,” says Jim MacDonald, director of Transportation Services. “Parking enforcement is serious and necessary work, so it’s a nice change of pace to enforce for the greater good and make magic around the holidays.”

For the past seven years, Transportation Services has been running the Make Magic campaign—which typically raises between $10,000 to $12,000 each year—in partnership with the Students’ Association of MacEwan University (SAMU). Past proceeds have benefitted SAMU’S student-run Adopt-a-Family charity, which provides financial assistance to MacEwan University students and their families during the holidays.

This year, Make Magic has expanded to extend proceeds to Boyle Street Community Services.

“We’ve had great success working with SAMU and Adopt-a-Family, and we’re excited to extend the program to reach the wider downtown community,” says Jim.

With the addition of Boyle Street, Make Magic has set a $15,000 fundraising goal for 2016, and Jim is certain it can be met.

“We get a really positive reaction from the public—we actually get people who are willing to pay their full fine because it’s being donated to charity,” he says. “So when people learn it’s also going to benefit Edmonton’s underprivileged, they’ll want to help even more.”

Brent Guidinger, Boyle Street Community Services development manager, says that funds raised through Make Magic will help keep community members safe during the cold winter months, and that the campaign will help raise awareness about Boyle Street among MacEwan’s student population.

“Make Magic not only supports the community members that Boyle Street serves but also gives MacEwan students the opportunity to learn about the impact they can make by giving back to the community,” says Brent. “Campaigns like Make Magic can help tremendously in raising awareness of the issues that our community faces on a daily basis.”

Make Magic 2016 runs until December 5. During the campaign, all parking fines for faculty, staff, students and arena parking patrons are eligible for the reduction. For information on how to clear up those pesky parking fines while making holiday magic, visit MacEwan’s Transportation Services website.

We acknowledge that the land on which we gather in Treaty Six Territory is the traditional gathering place for many Indigenous people. We honour and respect the history, languages, ceremonies and culture of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit who call this territory home.